With the Irish apple season upon us, it’s a perfect time to use up this trusty fruit that is an Irish staple. Versatile and delicious, apples have been harvested and eaten in Ireland for thousands of years. There are hundreds of varieties, all with their own characteristics, from sweetness and acidity levels to colour, texture and longevity. This week I’m using them to cook a trendy breakfast staple that can be made in advance and one of the most traditional desserts of all: the tarte Tatin.
The apple crumble overnight oats take the idea of a dessert and apply it to breakfast, while trying to use as little sugar as possible. The beauty of my job is the variety and randomness it regularly presents. A recent project had me designing an Irish cafe menu in Austin, Texas, where traditional barbecue, the wild west and 40-degree heat meet Pilates, driverless cars and big tech corporations. The challenge was to produce classic cafe food that appealed to the energetic and youthful audience while still holding something originally Irish. Well, if the Pilates people need their overnight oats, let’s infuse it with a traditional Irish dessert; the apple crumble. The compote is stirred through the oats as they soak before being topped with a crunchy crumble for texture. This is a perfect midweek breakfast for busy brigades to be eaten on the move. I layer them up in jars and leave them in the fridge to grab and go.
The second recipe is the perfect autumnal dessert. Soft, deeply caramelised apples and buttery, crisp puff pastry are a match made in heaven. There are many poor examples of this dish bouncing around online but I can guarantee you that this one is consistent, simple and offers perfect results every time (even if there are a few extra steps). The recipe is the work of one of my great friends, Evin Doherty, from Carrigart in Donegal, who I met in 2010 while working under Kevin Thornton in Dublin. We later worked together in Melbourne, where he runs one of the best restaurants in the city. With a meticulous eye for detail and consistency, I’m always on to him for guidance. When a photograph of this Tatin appeared a few years ago, I immediately picked up the phone: “Explain this one, Evin. Spare no details.”
“Essentially you make an apple terrine to start, allowing the partially cooked apples to soak overnight in the caramel so they go completely brown,” he explained. “By then adding the pastry to the cold terrine and baking it again, you avoid a soggy base, delivering the two key elements of crispy pastry and soft, deeply caramelised apple.” Furiously taking notes at some godforsaken hour due to the time zone, I thanked him before spending another hour reviewing every sporting event of the previous year – this is the magic of our industry, working together to help, and there’s nobody better than Evin.
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Serve it up with ice cream and sit back and thank the man from Donegal for showing us the way with the humble apple.
